Roofing Material And Method Of Making The Same

Abstract

A roofing material comprising an upper surface and a lower surface, wherein the upper surface includes reduced-particle size granules and may further include a reduced-thickness face coating. The thickness of the upper surface is related to the particle size of the granules deposed on the face coating. A smaller particle size granule than those used in traditional roofing shingles is utilized in the upper surface which may allow for a reduced-thickness face coating while not sacrificing the retention of the granules on the surface of the roofing material or desired physical characteristics. The face coating may include a reduced amount of filler material, such as mineral fillers, than face coatings of traditional roofing materials.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to Provisional Application No. 61 / 299,664, filed on Jan. 29, 2010.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates to roofing materials that have optimized granule and face coating layers which render the roofing materials better for the environment, cost effective and lighter than traditional roofing products while providing excellent physical and mechanical properties, such as fire resistance, impact resistance, tear strength and water shedding, and to methods of making the roofing materials.BACKGROUND OF INVENTION[0003]Roofing material has an upper surface intended to be exposed to weather and a lower surface facing in the direction opposite to the upper surface. A typical asphalt shingle has an asphalt-based substrate with granules deposed thereon. The granules are embedded in a layer of asphalt on the upper surface of the substrate, referred to herein as the face coati...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0006]In accordance with the invention, roofing materials such as shingles are improved by increasing the granule coverage and thus achieving greater protection of the asphalt. Granule coverage is improved by reducing the particle size of the granules as compared with granules used in traditional roofing materials, which also may reduce the weight of the roofing materials. In addition, the reduced-particle size granules may allow for reducing the amount of the face coat used in the roofing materials. Reduced particle size granules also may result in reduced granule load on the shingle. In addition, less filler may be used in the face coat. The use of less face coat, e.g., asphaltic material, less filler and / or less granule load than traditional roofing materials makes the roofing materials of the invention more environmentally friendly and less costly to manufacture and ship, while still maintaining the desired specifications, and surprisingly maintaining excellent impact resistance.

[0008]In one embodiment, the roofing material, which has reduced-particle size granules and may also have a reduced-thickness face coating, comprises a headlap and a butt section, with at least one of the headlap or butt section having at least two horizontal striations, wherein a first horizontal striation has granules of an average particle size and a second horizontal striation has granules of a different average particle size than the first horizontal striation. The different particle size of the striations creates a contrast between striations and may create a desired illusion of depth or thickness when the shingles are installed on a roof. The number of horizontal striations and their width may be varied to provide a greater illusion of depth or thickness. The color of the granules may also be varied to provide an enhanced visual appearance. In one embodiment, the roofing material is a single layer and the headlap section includes the at least two horizontal striations. In another embodiment, the roofing material is a laminated shingle including a backer strip, wherein the backer strip comprises the at least two horizontal striations.

Problems solved by technology

Attempts to reduce the cost and / or weight of shingles have met with difficulty in achieving desired physical characteristics, and particularly desired impact resistance.

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